Acting is not about being someone different. It's finding the similarity in what is apparently different, then finding myself in there.
– Meryl Streep
Drama
Our drama curriculum provides pupils with an introduction to the essential knowledge that they need to be educated, rounded and expressive citizens. It introduces students to the best that has been thought and said; and helps engender an appreciation of human imagination, creativity and achievement.
Miss J Hart
Head of Drama
Our Drama curriculum is carefully designed to:
- give all students’ fun, practical and inspiring experiences so that they can enjoy all aspects of dance and drama (OPENING DOORS)
- give every student the opportunity to develop their potential and nurture and encourage them to continue their development throughout their school life
- develop students who have a strong awareness of the cultural importance of Performing Arts and have benefited from opportunities to experience all aspects of dance and drama through extra-curricular and enrichment activities, educational visits and regular access to authentic material (OPENING MINDS)
- build confidence through performance and devising and develop self-discipline through rehearsal and preparation
- have a comprehensive understanding of Drama terminology, which includes the ability to apply it in new contexts and the ability to use and understand these terms confidently in the discussion and evaluation of practitioners work and their own choreography and theatrical compositions
- are able to progress readily to the next stage of their learning in dance or drama
- develop students’ transferable skills that they can use in all other areas of their learning.
Year 7, 8 and 9 Curriculum Content
Our three-year Key Stage 3 curriculum is designed to develop passionate, imaginative and inquisitive individuals, who see the world from an artistic perspective, enjoying and exploring dance and drama of various styles and genres from an array of different traditions and cultures. The curriculum is broad and ambitious and is rich in practical skills development. It prepares students to become independent and creative individuals and allows them to develop their knowledge and skills in the three main components of dance and drama: exploring performing arts, developing skills and techniques in performing arts and responding to stimuli.
| Year 7 | Unit/Topic |
|---|---|
| Autumn Dance | To learn develop and embed the basics of street dance technique |
| Autumn Drama | Welcome to Drama / Greek Theatre - To understand what drama is through practical exploration of drama conventions used and the development of performance skills |
| Spring Dance | To learn develop and embed the basics of contemporary dance technique |
| Spring Drama | From Page to Stage: A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens - to understand how social context can influence the playwrights themes, characters and imagery in a play |
| Summer Dance | To learn develop and embed the basics of musical theatre dance technique. |
| Summer HT2 | Responding to a given stimuli - to understand how drama is made through the exploration of a given stimulus |
| Year 8 | Unit/Topic |
|---|---|
| Autumn Dance | Break Dance - To learn and develop the basics of break dance technique. |
| Autumn Drama | The Twits: Physical Theatre -To explore physicality through the text and to explore how language and imagery is used to create the drama. |
| Spring Dance | Musical Theatre - To develop and embed skills within musical theatre dance technique. |
| Spring Drama | American Literature ‘Of Mice and Men’ by John Steinbeck - Exploring the historical contexts in which texts are set and the impact on the writer’s craft. |
| Summer Dance | Contemporary - To develop and embed skills within contemporary dance technique. |
| Summer Drama | Romeo and Juliet - Exploring the writer’s use of language, character and structure |
| Year 9 | Unit/Topic |
|---|---|
| Autumn Dance | Hip-Hop Dance - To learn and develop the basics of hip-hop dance technique |
| Autumn Drama | Woman In Black - to explore the way tension and atmosphere is created in The Woman In Black |
| Spring Dance | Musical Theatre - To continue to develop and embed the basics of musical theatre dance technique. |
| Spring Drama | Blood Brothers / Our Day Out - Pupils will explore key scripted extracts, including monologues and duologues from the script. |
| Summer Drama | Dystopian Fiction – Noughts and Crosses - Exploring how writers create dystopian worlds and the impact on society today. |
Year 10 and 11 Curriculum Content
At Key Stage 4 students will specialise in either dance or drama and will be encouraged to engage critically and creatively with a wide range of performance styles and disciplines, practitioners and set texts. They will learn about the key features that contribute to these such as practitioners’ roles, responsibilities, skills and techniques.
| Year 10 | Unit/Topic |
|---|---|
| Autumn | Exploring Performing Arts - Learners will develop their understanding of the performing arts by examining practitioners’ work and the processes used to create performance. |
| Spring | Exploring Performing Arts - Learners will develop their understanding of the performing arts by examining practitioners’ work and the processes used to create performance |
| Summer | Exploring Performing Arts 3-Learners will develop their understanding of the performing arts by examining practitioners’ work and the processes used to create performance. |
| Year 11 | Unit/Topic |
|---|---|
| Autumn | Exploring Performing Arts 30% of total course |
| Spring | Exploring Performing Arts 30% of total course |
| Summer | Responding to a Brief 40% |
Key Stage 4 Performing Arts students follow the Performing Arts BTEC Level 1/2 Performing Arts specification . For further details, please follow the link below.
Download Full Performing Arts Specification
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Please click on the First Careers logo to visit their website.
A Student’s View
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Oliver
Former Notre Dame student, went on to study English Literature at University of Cambridge
